


When Leonard Met Sara

by GachMoBrea



Series: The Unexpected Series [39]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: (Because my brain is SO done.), (Remember?), AU, Bank Robbers, Gen, Goes with the Series, Len can understand Irish, Meeting Sara, OOC, Open Ending, They really need to get that Milk.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 22:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9405956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: It happens during a bank robbery (that Len is NOT responsible for) because of course their first meeting can't possibly be normal![Characters are present but get no major roles, so they are clustered into "Other". So sorry, Wentworth & Co.]





	

Barry, Len, Lisa, Wentworth, Nora and LJ all travel to Star City for Felicity and Oliver's wedding. The billionaire vigilante rented an entire appartment for the family to make things easier for them.  
"He can afford it," Len had remarked instead of a thank you. Barry made sure to make up for his partner's lack of appreciation with several compliments and placations.  
Cisco, Caitlin, and Mick were going to 'hold down the fort' in Central City while they were away.

 

Felicity and Thea stopped by to hang out with Lisa and the little ones, and to take a breather from all the wedding plan stress, so Len decides to go for a walk to check out the Star City Bank.  
"Why?" Barry asks him as he unwraps another sleeve of diapers.   
"Because, Barry," Len smirks as he puts on his coat. "They've got a new Reddington 43 Mock Lock safe in that bank and I want to see it."  
The speedster frowns at his partner, brain warring with itself whether to push for more answers or ask to come with.  
"I'm not going to rob the place, Barry," Len rolls his eyes. "I'm just going to look around. Then I'll pick up some coffee for us adults and milk for the kids and be home in time for dinner."  
"Barry's cooking!" Lisa announces from the living room where she and the other ladies are playing a board game with Wentworth.  
Unable to come up with a good reason not to, and knowing full well his partner would never jeopardize their family with a criminal fix, Barry nods. He still adds, "Milk is not recommended for babies under 12 months of age, though. So make sure you pick up formula for the girls too."  
"Yeah, yeah," Len waves at his partner as he slips out the door. On the other side he shouts, "Don't forget to bolt this thing!"

 

Outside, the streets are mildly busy with people moving to and fro to wherever they need to get. The winter air fills Len's lungs as he takes in a deep breath, then lets it out with a satisfied sigh.  
Using the plan he had already mapped out in his head, the ex-criminal gets to the bank in record time for someone on foot. He nearly bumps into a blonde who reaches the door at the same time, but Len pulls back a step in time to open the door for the woman instead of pushing his way in front of her.  
"Thanks," the blonde offers him a smile as she goes into the bank.   
"You're welcome," Len finishes with the appropriate manners as he follows after her.  
There are about a dozen or so customers and at six workers inside. On instinct, Len counts and places the security cameras and notes the single guard partially hidden by a pillar in the center of the establishment.  
The blonde he nearly ran into goes to wait on line while Len walks in the 'customer friendly' space to see if he can get the right angle to view the safe he knows is in the back. There's a long mirror hanging inside one of the cubicles and the ex-criminal just makes out the keypad and one of the handles of his target when he feels something 'off'.  
Years in the criminal business had Len's instincts honed in for trouble. His eyes shoot through the group, looking for odd bumps or shifting eyes and he notes four men standing too close to the edges of the 'customer friendly' space.  
"Of course," he sighs, just as the four men pull ski masks over their faces. "Barry's not going to like this."  
One of the four, a red-head that Len mentally names 'Leader' pulls a duffle bag out from behind a desk and lifts a semi-automatic from it. The other three go for their own weapons as well. Len has enough time to finish his text to his partner before Leader fires towards the ceiling and has everyone dropping to their knees.  
"Everybody down!" Leader orders, hoisting his weapon to his shoulder as one of his men, Len aptly names 1, points his shotgun at the sole guard. The last two men, Len names 2 and 3, go for the workers behind the counter with their hand guns.  
Len sighs at the amateur hour. He can already tell that the manager has hidden away in the back, probably in his office, and there's no doubt that the police already know about the robbery. The front door isn't secured and he sees an old woman reaching for the handle, so he decides to slam his fist against the glass to startle the woman away from danger.  
"Hey!" Leader shouts at him. "What do you think you're doing?"  
"The door's unlocked," Len drawls evenly, phone already silenced in his pocket before he raises his hands. "Unless you want more hostages than you can keep track of, I suggest you do something about that."  
Leader barks at number 3 in Irish to do as Len suggests. The ex-criminal forces the smirk down as he pretends to not know what the man said.  
2 huddles the hostages into the middle of the room while 1 finishes cuffing the guard and pushes the man into the group as well.  
"Get over here," Leader orders Len as 3 secures the door. Len glances back to note the old woman is gone, before doing as told.  
When he gets in range, Leader whips the butt of his gun around and hits Len in the head with it. Len sees it coming so he loosens his muscles and pulls his head with the motion to lessen the severity of the blow. It still breaks skin and he feels the blood trickling down the side of his face already as he turns a calm glare back at his assaulter.  
"You try anything?" Leader growls, getting into his space. "I'll kill you."  
"Why would I try anything?" Len drawls with a small smirk. "When you can get yourself into prison all by yourself?"  
Leader cocks his weapon and points it at Len's face, "Do you have a death wish?"  
"No," Len thinks maybe he's pushed the man a bit too far, but he can't go back now. "I just don't appreciate amateurs giving criminals a bad name by fouling up simple jobs."  
"What do you mean, Mr. Genius?" Leader growls.  
"First," Len lifts a finger, "You didn't kill the cameras, so there's footage to wipe now. Second," he lifts another finger, "You left the manager on his own and now the police are on their way. Third," another lifted finger, "The door was left open. It's a good thing the good people of Star City are easily quelled by gun fire, or else half of your hostages would have escaped."  
Len shrugs, "Those are just the easy observations. I could come up with a few more, but you're starting to look a little green."  
The head robber had gone from angry to confused to slightly worried during Len's little speech. He looks over to his men who are even more uneasy at hearing the man break down their mistakes so simply.  
"How 'bout you all run out the front entrance and take the third alley on the left before the boys in blue show up?" Len offers with a larger, more confident smirk. "You've got about forty-two seconds left to decide, though. So I'd hurry up and make up my mind if I were you."  
"Whatta we do man?" 3 shifts from foot to foot, eyes darting from his boss, to the lock on the door, to the outside in quick succession.  
Leader shouts at them in Irish to shut up. He point the barrel right in Len's face, "If you're so smart, how 'bout you figure out a way to crack that safe in the back and get us out of here?"  
"In thirty-three seconds?" Len raises an eyebrow. "Even if you knew me, you'd know that was impossible."  
'I can hear the sirens,' 3 tells his boss in Irish. His hand keeps hovering near the lock of the door, eyes searching out his fellow bank robbers' for what to do.  
'I ain't leaving without the gem!' Leader barks back in Irish. He glares at Len, "Okay, smarty pants, this is how things are gonna go. I'm gonna take you back to that safe with me and together we're gonna crack it."  
"Why do you think I know how to do that?" Len is genuinely curious. It's not normal for rookie crooks to just assume anyone can rob banks. Or maybe it was, because these morons thought THEY could rob the bank.  
Leader chuckles, "I know a fellow crook when I see one."  
"Don't insult me," Len drawls back with narrowed eyes. "I just know how to appreciate a good theft."  
The bank robber punches him in the gut, bending Len in half from the force of it. The ex-criminal hadn't expected that blow.  
'Move the desks to the front entrance and herd the people to the side so that the cops can't see them!' Leader orders 1 and 3 in Irish. 2 keeps his weapon pointed to the huddled hostages.  
"Come on," Leader grabs Len's left bicep and starts to drag him to the back of the bank. The blonde from earlier jumps up and shouts, "Wait!"  
Four sets of eyes and their matching weapons turn to the woman standing in the center of the cowering people.  
"You're not going anywhere with my husband," the blonde says evenly, face looking to the untrained eye as the concerned spouse. "You take him? You take me."  
"Husband?" Leader sneers as Len keeps his expression blank. The crime fighter tries to figure out the woman's possible motives, but his train of thought is interrupted by the police arriving.  
"This is Detective Lance of the SCPD!" a man's voice shouts over a megaphone. "We've got you surrounded!"  
1 and 3 continue to follow their boss's orders without reacting to the detective's voice. Once the desks are blockading the entrance, Leader motions for the hostages to be moved but orders 3 to leave the blonde.  
"What's your name, sweetheart?" Leader grins as he ignores the bank's phone that's starting to ring. "Or do you want me to just call you Blondie?"  
"Mrs. Lotz," Len answers for the woman. "That makes me Mr. Lotz, in case you forgot."  
"Protective of your little wife, Lotz?" Leader chuckles, enjoying the assumed power over the other man. "Maybe you shouldn't have risked her safety by opening you big mouth?"  
"Maybe you should do better research when casing banks to rob," Len counters.  
"Are you going to answer that?" Blondie speaks up when it looks like Len is going to be hit again. The bank phone keeps ringing as she points at it. "I can do it for you. If you want. Just so that the police don't know your voice?"  
"You're wife's smart, Lotz," Leader approves. He jerks his head to the device, "Go ahead."  
The woman quickly rushes over to the phone and picks up the receiver.  
"Hello?" she answers shakily, far more frightened than she sounded a second ago. "Yes, we're all fine, detective."  
Then Blondie frowns, "No, that's not me. I'm Mrs. Lotz."  
Len assumes the detective knows the blonde. One more mistake for the poor excuse of bank robbers. They should have the phone on speaker.  
She looks over to Leader with big eyes, "He wants to know your demands."  
"Tell them to BACK OFF!" Leader shouts the last two words loud enough for the other person on the phone to hear. "I have a short temper, so they better not test me."  
"He says-" Blondie smirks humorlessly. "Yes, I see."  
She addresses Leader again, "He wants to talk to you."  
"Tell him to call back in five minutes," Leader orders her.  
"What happens in five minutes?" Blondie frowns.  
"I kill a hostage."

"What?" Len and the woman parrot.   
"Didn't see that coming, did you smarty?" Leader barks out a pleased laugh. "That's right. You've got five minutes to get me into that safe or I'll kill someone and toss their body to the cops."  
"But the police say they'll back off," Blondie's frown deepens. "Why would you kill someone just because my husband can't do the impossible?"  
"Because I can and because he ticked me off," Leader growls, pointing his weapon at her, "Now hang up!"  
She does, then raises her hands in surrender.  
"Let's go," Leader motions with his gun for the woman to walk ahead, then pulls Len into the back where the safe was.

Len whistles in appreciation when he finally gets a good look at the thing.  
"It's just a fancy safe," Leader scoffs, pushing Blondie into the corner as his hostage reverently touches the cool metal.  
"This," Len inwardly sighs for the loss of criminal intelligence. "is a Reddington 43 Mock Lock safe." He sighs outwardly at the lost expression on his captor's face, "It's not 'just a fancy safe' it is THE 'fancy safe'. Only three in the world and no one has cracked them yet."  
"Until today," Leader cocks his weapon again in an unspoken threat. "Four minutes left."  
Len glances at his watch. "Four minutes and twenty-nine seconds," he corrects.   
"I'm going to enjoy killing you," Leader growls from his spot next to Blondie.  
"Now, you see?" the woman sighs as she cracks her knuckles. "You really shouldn't go around threatening people when you need them."  
"What did you-" the man's angry retort is cut short by a fist to the face, followed by his gun being grabbed and used to knock him out in one powerful swipe to the head.  
Blondie checks the weapon as the man crumples to the floor, unconscious.  
"Nice moves, Blondie," Len drawls in appreciation. "You a cop or something?"  
"Or something," the woman shrugs. She glances around the wall to see the other three hostiles. "You got any ideas how to draw the other three in here?"  
"One or two," Len smirks. The woman looks at him curiously.

The semi-automatic goes off and Blondie screams.   
3 curses, "He's killed the talkative one!"  
1 and 2 look at each other.   
"I'll go," 2 volunteers. "You two keep an eye on them."  
The man leaves the hostages and sighs when he see legs splayed out on the ground.  
"You couldn't let him live until we got outta here?" 2 says, then enters the room to see it's his boss on the ground, not the hostage.  
"What-?" 2 turns and gets a face full of gun, knocking him out like his boss and piling his body right on top of the other man.  
Len puts a winter glove on to remove the weapon from the downed robber.  
"Just two left," Blondie nods to Len as he checks the weapon. "I don't imagine that working a second time though."  
"Thought it would attract two," Len frowns, placing the gun in his coat pocket. "We can try draw and claw, but they still might leave one man on the hostages."  
"Draw and claw?" Blondie raises an eyebrow. "How often have you been in these kind of situations, Mr. Lotz?"  
"Hard to count," Len shrugs. "I'll draw them away and you knock them out. If I only get one guy, I'll come up with a plan C."  
"Where do I hide?" Blondie asks as Len moves, half bent over to leave.  
"Right here," Len nods to the body pile. "They're bound to come running to see what happened to their leader if they don't run for it first."  
"Good luck!" Blondie whispers as the ex-crook sneaks away and towards the front.

"He's taking too long," 3 says nervously, eyes looking over to where his comrade went a few moments ago. "Why is he taking so long?"  
"You know how he gets," 1 shrugs. "It's probably taking a while to cool him down."  
"But it shouldn't be taking this long!" 3's voice raises higher, making a few of the hostages cower a little closer together.  
"Calm down," 1 orders. "I'll go look. Unless you want to?"  
"Are you kidding me?" 3 laughs sarcastically. "I don't want to see a dead body."  
'You're such a child,' 1 remarks in Irish as he walks out of the room.  
'You're no better!' 3 counters in Irish weakly, gun aiming at the hostages nervously as one of them moves.   
Len can hear Blondie taking out 1 as he gets a good view of the hostages and the last bank robber. He weighs his options, then pulls out his phone and calls the bank's number. Another mistake. They let them keep their phones.  
The bank phone rings.  
3 looks over to the device, then to where his comrades had gone, then back to the phone.  
"Whatever," he growls, stomping over to the thing and answering with a loud, "What?!"  
"Pizza delivery," Len smiles as he creeps around the counter for his target.  
"Pizza?" 3 scoffs. "We didn't order any pizza!"  
Len pulls out the gun and hits the robber in the back of the head with it.  
"Sorry," he says as he gets the man's gun. "Wrong number."  
Blondie runs out from the back room with the shotgun slung over her shoulder. She notes the knocked out bad guy with a nod, then turns to the hostages, "Everybody okay?"  
The glass door for the bank explodes inwards and a platoon of police officers come barreling in, ordering the two weapon-wielding individuals to drop their guns and hit the floor.  
Len and Blondie push the guns away from themselves and get to their knees. Then there's a bolt of lightning and both of them are gone.  
"What the?" Det. Lance looks to where his daughter used to be. "What was that?"

 

Len blinks a few times after the world stops blurring around him and smirks at The Flash's deep frown.  
"Hey there, Flash," he greets his partner. "Long time no see."  
"I thought you said you were just gonna look at it," Barry growls at Len.   
"I was."  
"How is getting involved in a bank robbery just looking at it?" the speedster nearly shouts in exasperation. "And why did you text me that you were 'going to be late' instead of saying 'there's a robbery at the bank'?"  
"That would've taken too long," Len shrugs. "Besides, the men were amateurs. I knew either the police would catch them or I could outsmart them."  
"I could have wrapped that up in seconds!" Barry nearly shouts again. "But instead I had to find out about it on the news, seconds before the police barged in and arrested you!"  
"Uhm," Blondie raises her hand. "What's going on?"  
"Oh," Barry blushes, but only Len could tell with the cowl on. "Sorry, I'm The Flash, a Metahuman from Central City."  
"And you're here in Star City saving Leonard Snart's over-confident behind, because?" Blondie asks, arms crossing over her chest.  
"Because Miss Lance, Sara right?" Len enjoys the glare he gets from the woman. She started it with the name thing. "He and I are partners now. We have a whole fan club and everything."  
"Sara Lance?" Barry blinks. "Right! Laurel's younger sister! I can't believe it took me so long to recognize you."  
"How do you know my sister?" Sara challenges the hero.  
"Probably the same way you know who I am," Len vaguely offers her the answers.  
"What does Oliver have to do with any of this?" the blonde's brow furrows even more in confusion. "Stop talking around it and just tell me plainly!"  
"Oliver Queen and The Flash are friends," Len answers before the equally frustrated speedster can. "When Scarlet and I became pals, he came to see us and give me the hero version of a shovel talk."  
"I can't imagine you taking him too seriously," Sara narrows her eyes at him. "Did he threaten to sue you or something?"  
"Didn't even threaten to hit me in the knees with arrows," the crime fighter grins when the realization that he knew the man's vigilante identity clicked in the woman's head.  
"So, what, you came here to Star City to play in his turf to show off your manliness or something?" Sara's cell phone goes off. She pulls it out and groans at the caller ID.   
"I think that's enough conversation for one day," Len checks the time and sighs. "I still need to pick up milk before getting back."  
"You can't just go grocery shopping after being involved in a bank robbery," Barry scolds his partner. "I've gotta bring you back to make a statement."  
"Not tonight, I'm tired," Len shakes his head, moving towards the fire escape for the roof that they're on.  
"Len," his partner warns him. "I'm not going to let you ignore this until it gets out of control and your face is all over the place on a wanted poster."  
"I'd appreciate it if you took me to my father too," Sara adds. "I'll smooth this over with him for the both of us."  
"I'm sure he's used to covering for his little girl," Len grins. "And now her husband."  
"Husband?" Barry chokes out. "Len? LEN!"

\---

Oliver steps in to help Sara clear things up with her father. Len is released by a disgruntled detective Lance who eventually just throws everyone out before his headache can start pounding behind his eyes.

Barry is anxiously waiting outside for his partner, pacing back and forth in front the entrance while he wrings his hands together.  
Oliver steps out first, smiling at his friend reassuringly.  
"Everything's fine," the archer tells the speedster.  
"Even if it wasn't," Len drawls, stepping close to whisper to the brunette. "I would've escaped in a timely manner."  
"This isn't the time for a prison break joke!" Barry snaps, flinching when it comes out too loudly.  
"At least I'm not talking openly about illegal activities outside a police station," his partner shrugs indifferently. He suddenly turns serious, "Barry, did you at get the milk yet?"  
"He's unbelievable," Sara shakes her head at the ex-criminal. She glares at Oliver, "Why didn't you at least threaten to shoot him?"  
Len chuckles as two officers look warily over to them.  
"I think we should shelf this 'colorful' conversation until we can have it where there are less ears," he comments, heading in the direction of the apartment. He throws over his shoulder, "I really do need to know about the milk. I'm not going to a cranky house empty-handed."  
Sara continues to shake her head as Oliver smiles fondly at the two walking away and lightly arguing about absolutely nothing.

 

\--- - ---

**Author's Note:**

> "Arrow" is clearly being affected by this Alternate Universe. I was 'going to' watch some of the episodes to get a feel for the Time Line, then went "Nah!"  
> Forget what happens in the show. THIS is how it's going down. ^_^  
> \- -  
> I wrote this piece the same time I wrote the outline for the Christmas one. (I wrote the Cisco Short after but posted before because of Time Line.) I'm only mentioning it in case anyone notices the change of 'style' in writing or something of that nature.  
> \--- - ---  
> [I own NOTHING. No Show. No Characters. Nothing.]


End file.
